Sooooo 56 hours in or so I finally get my Skell. Not because the game obstructed me, just been doing a lot of sidequesting and affinity questing in between chapters. So far, really really enjoying the game. Also, taking my time and exploring made those Skell License Exam quests pretty easy which was nice. And the Skells are pretty freaking awesome. The whole size matters thing suddenly goes both ways, with you now not only having things roughly your size and everything bigger than you but things bigger than you and things smaller than you. So you can take on a significantly higher level Grex tyrant and completely curb stomp him but get two or three Skells wrecked by by that gigantic Ent-thing tyrant that's only one or two levels higher in Noctilum that used to not even pay you any mind. The twist to combat mechanics - especially the way Overdrive works - is cool and refreshing. And of course it's great to be able to travel far faster.
I've enjoyed the story so far. The characters are likeable for the most part and you get interesting glimpses into their pasts as well as the crap show that was the days leading up to the launch of Project Exodus. I actually don't mind the slower pacing and sprawling aspect of the narrative (that is the chapters + the affinity quests) but full disclosure: not only am I Tolkien fan but one of my favorite books is The Silmarillion so slow pacing clearly doesn't bother me much at all. :P
I will say I understand the frustration; this is a game built with a specific pace in mind. This is the only game I will say you really should take a bit of time and plan out an approach before diving in to maximize your enjoyment. I will say that trying to rocket through the 12 chapters at max efficiency is probably the worst experience you can pick since 1) that will have you likely doing some of the worst quests and such to grind the needed requirements and 2) you are, frankly, missing 2/3 of the game's narrative.
